The Jinchuriki's Fate
by annatar reign
Summary: This a story of Sarutobi making a different decision regarding the Jinchuriki. One-shot
1. Chapter 1

Hiruzen Sarutobi walked into the Hokage's mansion tired after a day of hard work. It had been a week since the Kyuubi attacked, a week since his successor, Minato Namikaze, had died tried to save the village from the Kyuub's wrath and a week since he had, once again, taken his position as the Hokage. Yet, even in that small space of time he remembered why he had been so eager to hand over the job to Minato. The job of Hogake was really grueling to the body and to the mind. Mind, because, the fate of all the civilians and ninja alike in Konohagakure depended on the decisions that you made, and body because despite the many ANBU bodyguards that the Hokage had, many assassins still managed to get through them to attack his intended victim, and any Hoakge who wasn't really strong would not last a month in the position, even in just the one week since he had become Hokage there had been 2 assassination attempts on his life, luckily his ANBU were strong enough to stop the would- be assassins. This was one of the reasons why a civilian was never made Hokage, only a ninja would be able to live and survive as the Hokage and no-one else.

But that was not what had tired Sarutobi today. No. It had been the constant barrage of complainants who had barraged into his office after the meeting that had taken place in the afternoon and the decision that he had made regarding the new Jinchuriki. It still gave him headache thinking about all the people who had come into his office later in the evening in order to change his mind.

-Seven Hours earlier-

A tall thin man wearing a lavish robe with jewelry clearly visible on his arms, ears and neck walked into the office of the Hokage as Sarutobi was going through the papers there were put in front of him. The man was Shinji Ikari and he was the second most influential person, among the civilians, in the village.

Shiniji marched upto to the Hokage's desk and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. The Hokage decided to continue his work till the man said something, so that he could have a moment of peace.

"Hokage-same, I request that you please reconsider your decision." Shinji said.

"What decision are you talking about Shinji-san?"

"You know very well I am talking about the jinchuriki Hokage-sama. It should be kept in a secure place till we are certain that he cannot harm anyone in the village."

"Do you not think that the place I have chosen will be the safest in the entire village?" Sarutobi said, challenging him to disagree.

This caused Shinji to pause and reconsider his next words.

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, while the location might be safe it would still be wise to put the child in a more secure location till the effectiveness of the seal is verified." Shinji said.

"Do you doubt a seal made by the Fourth Shinji-san?"

"N-No, of course not, I am just try-"

"You need not worry Shinji-san, I have asked Jiraya to come back to the village to check up on the seal and he said that he will back by tomorrow."

"Yes, that was a good judgment on your part Hokage-sama and i-"

"I hope I have quelled your fears regarding the status of the child I presume"

Shinji had started to sweat by this time and he could see that the Hokage was not going to entertain any other arguments from him and so he relented.

"Yes Hokage-same. I knew that you would make the correct decisions I just had to quell the fears of the public you see."

"Of course Shinji- san and I am thankful for all the work that you do for the _civilians_ of this village." Sarutobi said, emphasizing that Shinji had to only care about the civilians side of the village and that the ninja-business would be taken care of by the ninjas.

"Now that I have answered all you doubts I request that you please leave me so that I can quickly get back to all these papers you see on my desk" Sarutobi said opening his arms to show the ever increasing papers in his desk that had been increasing every day since the attacks.

"Of course Hokage-same, I hope you have a good day" Shinji said as he quickly walked out of the Hokage's office.

-Present time-

That had just been the first of many visits to his office by the influential members from the civilians side of the village. But he had taken care of all of them like he had with Shinji.

The next great problem came when his old team-mate Danzo Shimura came into his office a few hours later.

-Five Hours earlier-

Danzo and Sarutobi were seating on either side of the table looking each other in the eye. They had been seating like that for the last ten minutes. Finally Danzo began.

"You are making a mistake Sarutobi."

"Every decision I make is a mistake to you Danzo" Sarutobi countered with a smirk.

"You should give the jinchuriki to me, The child needs to be trained properly so that it may be of use to the village when the time comes."

"The child does not need to be turned into an emotionless machine. I am sure that the sapling will be helpful to the village with or without your training Danzo."

"The child needs to be given proper training which you will not be able to provide with your busy schedule as the Hokage and any shinobi that you choose to teach it will not guide the child properly."

"I disagree Danzo, I think that I, or any ninja that I choose, will give the child all the education it will ever need to became whatever the child choses to be in life."

"You know nothing, Sarutobi Hirunze."

This irked Sartuobi, as he had done enough in his life as Hokage and as the ninja of the village to know how to guide a child to be a great ninja.

"Do not forget Danzo that I was the one who lead Konaha to victory during the Third Great Ninja War. And I was also the one who trained three of the strongest ninjas this village has ever know, one of who went onto train his own disciple who became the strongest ninja in the world."

"And yet none of them are present in the village right now. One betrayed the village another ran away from it and the third stays but mere days in the village in the entire year. The only success that you ever had was with your disciple's disciple. Minato was a great ninja, there is no doubt about it, but it was not you who trained him. And while you may take credit for training Jiraya, Minato's training was done by Jiraya and not you."

"While Orochimaru was an unfortunate incident, Tsunade and Jiraya are still loyal to the village and will come to help in times of need."

"And yet where is Tsunade when we need her at this time of great peril? Face if Sarutobi, you have failed when it comes to teaching young ninja and you should hand over the training of the young child to someone who is more suited to it than you."

"Do no forget Danzo that as of this moment I am the Hokage and my decision regarding the child will not change and that is final."

"Very well Sarutobi."

And with that Danzo got up and left the office.

-Present Time-

Sarutobu knew very well that he had lost that round of their continuous debate and that Danzo would not leave it at that. He was sure that Danzo would try to call a meeting to change the decision that Sarutobi had made so that he could get his hands on the child. But he would do all that he could to ensure that it would never happen.

And while he had hoped Danzo would be last head-ache of the day, it had not been so. The people from the civilians side kept coming seeking the change his mind regarding his decision, some even suggesting it would be better to kill "the beast" while there was still time, and while Sarutobi understood the grief that some of the civilians were under, he had after all lost his own wife during the attack, he would under no circumstances allow anyone to kill the child. After all the civilians were done with and he was just about to head home the representative of the Fire lord came into his office requesting an immediate update on the situation and requesting him, the Hokage, to ease the Fire Lord's mind regarding the status of the village and its military force. That had taken him a good few hours and had the direct result of him coming back to his home so late in the night.

Sarutobi climbed up the stairs and turned the corridor to watch an old woman coming out of one of the rooms. He waited till the old woman had closed the door and noticed him before he started walking towards her again.

"Ah, Saru-chan, you took your time coming back here didn't you?" Asuka began.

"Forgive Asuka-baa-chan, the fire lord's representative came to my office just as I was about to leave and made me stay for a while as I appeased all his worries."

"Oh, you poor thing, they made you Hokage again. Well don't you worry about that sweet little child in the room. I will take care of him while you are busy with your work" Asuka said with a smile.

"How is the child?"

"Well he was brought in an hour before lunch. He was crying when they brought the child in. You really need to get better ninjas to deliver a small child like that Saru-chan. It took me a while to quite him down, but I eventually did after feeding him and he has been sleeping for the last few hours now."

"I was more concerned about the child's safety at that time Asuka-baa-chan"

"Ah, you have always been like that Saru-chan, since I day I helped your mother give birth to you. You didn't cry at all the day you were born. You have always been the more practical kind. Even in your old age, no matter how much you show others your kind and caring side, I know you Saru-chan and you have always thought more about the practical side of things than the emotional."

"Not for this child Baa-chan." Sarutobi said as he looked at the closed door.

"Well I will leave you alone with the child now. I will be in my room if you ever need me."

"Thank you Asuka-baa-chan" Sarutobi said and he smiled at the woman who had taken care of him since he was a child.

Sarutobi slowly opened the door to the child's room and walked upto the crib. Today had been one of the most tiring days of his life and he could still feel the headache and body pains from all the arguing and work that he had done today for the sake of the child sleeping soundly in the crib. But as he looked down at the peacefully sleeping face of the child all his worries and pains went away and he was at peace. He realized that he would go through all this all over again if he had to just for the chance to keep and raise this beautiful baby named…

[h]

And that is it folks, hope you liked his better than Kazekage's decision. Since no-one gave any reviews for that one, my one story without atleat one review, I can only guess that it was not that good. If it was not good I request you to tell me what you did not like about that story. Like I have said again and again I want to improve myself as an author and I cannot do that unless someone tells me where I am messing up.

As for why I did not specify any gender or any name for the child that because I want you guys to decide on your own who was made the jinchuriki in this story.

Well that's it from me, do not forget to read and review(that's what R&R mean btw) and tell if you liked it what was good about it and if you did not like it what did you not like about it.

Till next time

Adios Amigos, amis, friends, los amigos, etc.


	2. Chapter 2

Sarutobi Hiruzen woke up early in the morning to get ready for his job as the Hokage. He got up from his bed took a bath, dressed and started on his journey to the kitchen in order to see what Asuka-baa-chan had made him for breakfast.

It had been four days since Sarutobi had formally adopted Naruto Uzumaki. He had decided not to give him the Sarutobi name in order to make sure than none of his enemies would try to take revenge on him by harming Naruto. Though if Naruto ever decided to that he wanted to take his name he would never stop him.

But that was not what was on Sarutobi's mind at the moment. He was more worried about Danzo as he had yet to try anything since their last discussion regarding the fate of little Naruto. As Sarutobi reached the kitchen and sat down at the table he couldn't help but wonder when Danzo would make his move to get his hands on Naruto. He was sure that Danzo wouldn't take long and Sarutobi had to be ready to counter anything that he might try.

"Well Good Morning Saru-chan!" Asuka said as she smiled at Sarutobi.

"Good Morning Asuka-baa-chan. How is little naruto today?"

"Well he is sleeping, I am surprised at how much the little kid sleeps. Kids his age usually cry late at night for food or just because something woke them up. But Naru-chan has never woken me up in the middle of the night in the last three days at all."

"He must be tired from all the stress his little body has been going through the last few days. Once he feels comfortable here I am sure he will be like any other normal kid and keep you awake the entire night."

"Well I hope he doesn't keep me awake too long, I am old now and need my sleep as well." Asuka chuckled as she handed Sarutobi his breakfast.

"Ramen again? Asuka-baa-chan you know I like the ramen that you make, but I would like it if you gave me something else every once in a while." Sarutobi said as he looked at Asuka with a pleading look.

"Oh hush you, what would you know about the glories of ramen. Quietly eat your ramen and be off." Asuka said as she shoved the bowl of ramen further towards Sarutobi.

"I hope you won't feed ramen to Naruto everyday once he starts eating solid foot." Sarutobi said in a whisper so that Asuka would not be able to hear it.

"I heard you young man, and for your information I know about feeding a growing kid that you. I raised you, didn't I?" Asuka said as she glared at Sarutobi, "Plus I can already feel it, he will be the one who shall finally truly understand the glory that is ramen. Just you watch Sarutobi I am never wrong" Asuka said as she smiled and looked in the direction of Naruto's room.

Sarutobi just shook his head and finished his breakfast. After he was done with it he got up went up the stairs to Naruto's room to check up on him. He quietly opened the room and walked upto Naruto's crib to look down at the peacefully sleeping face of the baby who had whisker markings on his cheek. He gently put his thumb on the top whisker on his left cheek and gently stroked it and smiled down at him. He stopped when Naruto stirred a little. When he was sure that Naruto was sleeping peacefully again he bent down and kissed his forehead before going out the room and down the stairs.

"I am going now Asuka-baa-chan. I will leave a ninja here for your protection just in case. You can ask him to send a message to me if you want to tell me something."

"Ok already, this is not my first time taking care of a such a baby. Get out and do some good for the village."

"I will, take care of Naruto for me till I come back." Sarutobi said.

And with that he walked out of the Hokage Mansion and started walking towards the Academy. The Academy was located directly at the base of the Hokage monument. It was also where prospective ninjas from various clans and even some civilians joined in order to have chance at becoming ninjas of Konohagakure. As the academy was quite close to the Hokage mansion it didn't take Sarutobi long to reach it. He quickly climbed up the stairs of the building in order to reach the doors of the Hokage office. He quickly opened them and walked up to the seat behind the big table present in the office. He looked at it for a few seconds before sitting down.

It was still hard for him to sit down on the chair that he had vacated just a year ago to Minato. He had hoped that once he Minato was made Hokage he could spend the rest of his life with his wife Biwako. But, alas, that was not to be. He quickly left that train of thought and got back to the files and papers that were present in front of him. Almost all of them were regarding the damage that the village had gone through during the Kyuubi's rampage.

Just as he started reading the first file a ANBU ninja shunshined into the room. Sarutobi looked up from his file to see Rabbit bowed down in front of the table.

"Get up Rabbit and report" Sarutobi commanded his ANBU ninja.

Rabbit slowly got up and faced Sarutobi before speaking in a steady voice.

"Good Morning Hokage-same. We have just been informed that Danzo-san has requested a council meeting today at twelve o'clock."

This did not surprise Sarutobi and he was sure what Danzo wanted to arrange the council meeting for. He quickly looked at the watch to see that it was still eight in the morning. That meant he had ample to time in order to think about what Danzo might say to get the council to give him Naruto. He knew that if he wanted to could cancel this meeting, it was within his power as the Hokage of the village, but if he did that Danzo would try some other methods to try and get his hands of Naruto. So he decided that he would attend this meeting and make sure that the council saw that keeping Naruto with him would be the best idea.

He dismissed Rabbit with a wave of the finger and got back to the files, he would try to finish all of them by elven and spend the last hour trying to think of ways to get the council on his side.

-4 Hours Later-

Sarutobi walked towards the Council room as he once again ran his head through all the scenarios that he thought would happen inside the room in a few mins. Once we was done with that he opened the door to the council room to see that everyone was seated at their respective positions and talking among themselves, including Danzo who just looked at Sarutobi as he walked into the room. He quickly reached his seat that was the largest in the room. He sat down and acknowledged his two former team members, Koharu and Homura, who were also his aides in running the village. He then asked for silence from all the members of the council and when the noise had mellowed down he got up to speak.

"Dear distinguished members of the council I thank you all for coming here at such short notice. We are gathered here today because Danzo Shimura requested for this meeting. So, without further ado I would like to grant the stage to Danzo Shimura."Sarutobi said as he sat down and waited for Danzo to get up and begin his speech.

Danzo got up for a few seconds and cleared his throat as he began-

"Thank you Hiruzen Sarutobi" Danzo stopped for a few seconds here as people began to mummer about the disrespect that Danzo was giving to Sarutobi, thought Sarutobi himself let it slide.

"I have convened this meeting here today in order to decide on a matter of grave importance to the village's present and future well-being. This is a matter that should have been taken care as soon as kyuubi was defeated and the news of our beloved Fourth Hokage came forth. I have convened this meeting today, esteemed council members, in order to decide who should take over as the next Hokage."Danzo finished and smiled as he looked at the faces of all those present in the room.

Pandemonium ensued after Danzo finished his speech, even Sarutobi was surprised by Danzo. He had not expected Danzo to try to take his seat, though in hind sight he should have thought Danzo would try something like this. Thought Sarutobi was the Hokage at this point, there had never been an official meeting to appoint him as the Hokage once again, everyone had just assumed that since the fourth had died and with him still alive he was the Hokage and even Sarutobi himself had just gone with it and continued on his work as Hokage for the past week.

He was foolish to think Danzo would not try to take advantage of this and if he became Hokage he could easily force Sarutobi to hand over Naruto to him as a Jinchuriki was, in many village, considered a property of the village rather than a person and despite Sarutobis influence he wasn't sure that he would be able to stop Danzo from taking Naruto away if he became Hokage. Sarutobi's worked his mind furiously as he ignored the people that were shouting around him, he had to make sure he left this room as Hokage.

"What is the meaning of this Danzo-sama?" One civilian member said.

"You say such things in front of the Hokage himself?" Another began.

"This can be counted as treachery, you are trying to usurp the Hokage Danzo-sama. Even we cannot let this slide." Another countered.

While some Civilians were shouting their heads off, the ninja and clan members of the council kept quiet. They realized what Danzo was trying to do and that no matter what some of the civilians thought he had every right to call on this meeting. They could see that not every civilian member was shouting at Danzo, some didn't even look surprised. Danzo let the few members of the council to continue their shouting a few seconds longer before he once again started speaking.

"Dear council members I ask that you please stay calm. While I have nothing against Sarutobi it cannot be ignored that we have yet to appoint anyone as the Hokage after the death of the Fourth and while Sarutobi has been kind enough to take over the duties that he had left over an year ago, he was never given the post in the first place."

Danzo's explanation caused most of the shouting members to quiet down a bit so that Danzo could continue.

"Now, Sarutobi has been a wonderful _Third _Hokage to Konoha and we will always be grateful for that. But he has been the Hokage far too long and we need someone new to lead us in this hour of need. We have just lost our Fourth and many good and powerful ninjas during the Kyuubi's rampage, even Sarutobi lost his beloved wife in the disaster."

Sarutobi glared at Danzo as he brought up his wife into the conversation but Danzo ignored him and continued.

"And while Sarutobi is, no doubt, a strong shinobi and a great leader he is still human and after the loss of his only family member that is close to him I believe he should be allowed to rest his body and mind. I suggest that at the end of this meeting we leave this room with the confidence that the new Hokage who will lead this glorious village will have the necessary will and the mind to lead us out of these dark times and into a bright future that previous Hokages envisioned."

With that Danzo sat down.

Sarutobi continued to look at Danzo as he let a little smile to grace his features at having out-maneuvered Sarutobi. Though Sarutobi did not like it he had no choice but to ask if there awas anyone in the council who supported his agenda and hoped Danzo would not get the two supporters that he needed in order to begin the process of selecting the new Hokage. Sarutobi got up and began

"Thank you Danzo-san for that. Now as is required by law I ask if there is anyone in this council that supports Danzo?"

Immediately a hand shot out from the civilian side of the council. Sarutobi turned to see that it was Roronoa Ichigo. He was the most influential civilian in the village and Sarutobi feared that if Danzo had him in his corner the other members of the civilian council might be swayed and vote for him, even the ones who were protesting a mere minutes ago.

"I support Danzo-sama in this call for a new Hokage" Ichigo said.

But this was still just a single vote in his favor, Danzo still needed another members support in order to go ahead with his idea. Sarutobi looked around to see if anyone else was going to support Danzo. The civilian side of the council looked unsure of themselves suddenly while the ninja side kept to a pensive look on their face while they contemplated on the issue. He then turned to his left and saw Homura thinking very deeply and was about to say something when another voice interrupted him.

"I support Danzo Shimura as well in his call for a new Hokage to be installed at the seat."

Sarutboi turned his head so quick some feared that he might break it. He saw that the person who had lifted his hands was none other than his old team-mate koharu Utatane. She looked straight ahead and refused to look Sarutobi in the eyes. Sarutobi quickly composed himself and looked back towards the council members.

"Well, now that I have the two supporters I need by law I would like to declare this meeting be officially begin and I would also like to nominate myself for the post of Hokage" Danzo said as he looked at Sarutobi with a smirk.

"Very well," Koharu began still refusing to look Sarutobi in the eyes, "Is there anyone else who would like to nominate a candidate for Hokage?"

Sarutobi got up and nominated himself for the post once again and when no-one else said anything Koharu continued.

"We have two candidates for the position of Hokage, Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi. You both will now be given time to present your case for your selection as Hokage. Danzo-san if you would please start first."

Danzo looked at Koharu and nodded.

"Thank You Koharu-san. Dear council members I believe that I would be the best candidate for the Hokage at this very crucial time for our village. I was, for a short time, a student The Second, along with Sarutobi, and have learned everything there is to know about the village, its history and the know-how of leading it from him. I used to train and lead the now _defunct _ group of elite ninja called ROOT, which I might add was grave mistake on Sarutobi's part." Danzo said as he pointed at Sarutboi.

"I have taken part in the First Great Ninja war and thus know first-hand what it take to win a fight against one of the great ninja villages. Now some of you may think all the qualities that I have listed before are present in Sarutobi as well, and you might think what makes me a better leader than him. Well first and foremost I would like to point out that while we may share the same qualities how we use them is different. Sarutobi had been the Hokage for a really long time and thus has become predictable. All the great ninja villages know him and have fought against me. Whereas they almost nothing about me and at this time when we have been weakened by the bijuu's attack and are vulnerable we do need someone who our enemies know inside and out, we needs someone new who mill confuse and mistify the enemies with tactics they would not expect from us. Make no mistake honorable members, there will be attempts to dislodge us from our position as the strongest ninja village after this unfortunate attack."

"I have always been loyal to the growth and development of our village, ever since I was made into a full-fledged ninja I have done everything I could to make sure we, as a village, would always stay on top and that the people who stay here," He pointed at the civilian members," can do so without worrying about the lives your loved ones. Konoha cannot afford to let go of its grasp at the top, even when we low in manpower and thus I ask you all at such a time who would you like to lead you, a man who has lost almost everything to this same attack and who may or may not have recovered from losing his wife, his one sole member of his family that was close to him, or a man who has always been ready to serve and protect this great village we call our home."

With that Danzo sat down satisfied and waited for Sarutobi to say his piece.

Sarutobi got up slowly and looked at all the people present in the room before he began.

"Dear Council members, like Danzo-san pointed out before, I have been the Hokage for a long time but unlike what he said I have not become stale, I have continuously learned from this job and I have proven my worthiness many times over the course of my tenure as Hokage, from my sudden appointment as Hokage in the middle of the Second Great Ninja war to my guidance and leadership during the Third. I have shown that I am a great leader of ninjas as well as I trained the Sanin and made them into who they are today, the greatest ninja team of our village and the strongest ninjas in the world."

At this Sarutobi once again looked around at the people present in the room, including Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

"Danzo said that I may still be weeping at the loss of my wife and may not be able to lead the village properly, but he forgets that I lost my first son in the middle of the Third Great Ninja War and I did not let that affect my duties as the Hokage and lead us to victory and even now I shall continue to lead this village to my very best. That is all."

With that Sarutobi sat and down as Koharu once again got up.

"Everyone will now be given thirty minutes to think about their decision and when they have decided they will write their vote and put it in this container here." Koharu said and she used a hadn sign and made a ballet boxes appear infront of her.

"Once everyone has voted, the council will be given a thirty minute break as the votes are counted out. Once the break is over all the council members will gather back in this room and the result will be read." Koharu said down as she finished speaking and everyone started thinking about their vote.

-One Hour Later-

Everyone had once again gathered in the council room as Koharu and Homura stood on either side of the Sarutobi. Once everyone had sat down on their respective seats Koharu began speaking.

"Thank you for your votes. We have counted down the votes and the results are out. There were fourty-one votes with ten no-votes. With a count of 23 with and 18 against the Hokage is still Sarutobi Hiruzen."

Once the results were read Sarutobi let out a breath of relief as many people came up to congratulate him. He happily shook their hands as he noticed Danzo quietly slip away from the room.

-Later that Night-

Sarutobi once again walked into his house a tired man, both mentally and physically. He walked into the living room to see Asuka-baa-chan sitting there with Naruto in her lap. He couldn't help but smile at them as they played with the various toys that he had bought for Naruto.

Asuka-san turned when she heard a sound and sent Sarutobi a small smile and then asked him to come and play with Naruto. Sarutobi slowly walked upto Asuka-san and sat down at the chair opposite to her. He continued looking as Asuka lifted Naruto from the ground and put him on her lap and sat down at a rocking chair herself and started moving her body on the chair.

Asuka never asked Sarutobi about what had happened in the office, she did not care about that. She cared about Sarutobi and Naruto's was greatfull that Asuka-san did not ask him about his office.

As Sarutobi kept his eyes on Naruto, Naruto suddenly lifted his head from the toys in his lap and looked directly at Sarutobi, he looked at him for a few seconds before lifting his hands and opening and closing his fists while he pointed them at Sarutobi.

Sarutobi chuckled as he got up from his char and took Naruto from Asuka-san. She gladly gave Naruto to him as she went to make dinner for them.

Sarutobi looked down at the little boy in his arms as he looked up and grabbed his goatee and started playing with it. Naruto laughed as he kept his hold on the goatee and even though it hurt Hiruzen a little he let Naruto continue as he looked down at the reason for continuing to fight to stay in his position as Hokage of the village hidden in the leaves.

[h]

And that's a wrap. God-damn this is the longest chapter I have ever written period. I wanted to get Danzo out of the way for now so that I could later concentrate on Naruto, Sarutobi and Asuka's lives. Hope you enjoy it and if you find something that you did not like please tell me what it was.

By the way I do not think the other chapters after this will be as long as this one(they might take longer to update though), to be honest I didn't think this would be so long but still hope you like it and don't forget to Read and Review and tell me what you would like to see in future chapters.

Well that's it from me.

"A Witty Catchphrase"


	3. Chapter 3

For the first time since the attack of the Kyuubi, few weeks ago, Sarutobi was on his way home on time and not late in the night. Now that he had officially been made the Hokage once again he set about taking care of the damages to life and property that the village had gone through and even though there was a still a lot to do he had done enough today to warrant a day of rest, something he dearly needed as he hadn't had any rest since the attack. The Funeral of Minato took place the day after his coronation as the Hokage. The funeral had been a somber affair with the all people of the village attened. Naruto had been left at home with Asuka-san as Sarutobi didn't want to take any chances with his life. He had hoped that Jiraiya would attend and he would get the chance to talk with Naruto's legal guardian, as even though Sarutobi had seen Jiraiya standing quite a distance away from the funeral, he decided not to talk to Sarutobi and left before Sarutobi had a chance to speak to him. But it didn't matter Jiraiya came to the village once every three months to hand in his surveillance report and he had last come to the village two months ago as such Sarutobi would get to talk to him soon.

Taking his mind away from his current thoughts Sarutobi walked leisurely towards his house, while taking in all the sights and sounds of the village. Even though it was a small walk from The Academy to the mansion he could still see the difference the last few weeks of his work had done. The people, civilians and the few ninjas that he saw, were happier and there were also a lot of people having a merry of a time dancing, drinking and some even, to Sarutobi's embarrassment and pleasure, enjoying the pleasures of the flesh in the open. He was glad that the people that he governed were happy, because a happy population is what made Konoha such a strong village. And the happier the people of the village the more prosperous the village would be.

As he saw the Hokage Mansion a bit ahead of him he thought of Naruto and how this would be the first time since he had adopted him that he would have so much time to spend with him. He was really glad that Asuka-san had agreed to take care of him even in her old age. He really wanted to take care of Naruto but the job of Hokage was a really busy one that didn't grant the required time needed to take care of baby.

Sarutobi quietly opened the doors of the mansion and walked in to see Asuka-san playing with Naruto in the living room. The furniture of the living room had been moved so as to give more space for Naruto to move freely and Asuka-san was sitting on a chair as she watched Naruto play with all the toys given to him. Sarutobi smiled as he saw and then made a hand motion in order to dismiss the ANBU bodyguard, Inu, that had been assigned to take care of Naruto and Asuka-san, and who had no doubt been used, by Asuka-san, in order to move all the furniture and who would also be the person to put it all back in place tomorrow. After all the hard work that Inu had done over the last few weeks to keep Naruto and Asuka-san safe he deserved a well-deserved brake and Sarutobi would gladly give it to him.

As Sarutobi walked towards the two people in the living room Asuka slowly lifted her head and beamed as she she Sarutobi walk towards them.

"Ah, Saru-chan you are early today." Asuka said.

"Yes, Asuka-Baa-chan, I was able to complete my work much more quickly today. I see that you and Naruto are enjoying yourself."

"Yes, he really likes them. He has been playing with them since lunch."

Sarutobi looked at all the toys that were given to Naruto when he suddenly noticed one toy in particular.

"Asuka-baa-chan isn't that the same toy that I used to play with?" Sarutobi asked as he pointed to a small monkey doll that was leaning against Naruto's small body.

"Ah, I see you noticed that. It _is _the same one. Little Naruto here seems to have taken a liking to it as well. He always keeps it beside him no matter what he does. He seems to like it more than you did." Asuka said as she smiled fondly.

Sarutobi give a little smile as well as he thought back to his childhood and all the time he spent with the toy monkey.

"Why don't you sit down Saru-chan. I will dinner for you as soon as I am don feeding Naruto here. It's almost his feeding time now." Asuka said as she got up to lift Naruto from the ground.

"Why don't you leave feeding Naruto to me Asuka-baa-chan? You just take care of making whatever you would like to eat for dinner." Sarutobi said.

"Are you sure? I mean you have never fed a baby in a long time and the last time you tried that with Asuma, he wouldn't stop crying for a whole hour."

"I am sure Asuka-baa-chan, and Asuma always cried when it was feeding time so that does not count. Anyways leave this to me."

"As you wish, well then I am going to go make something for dinner then. You make sure you feed Naruto properly or else he stays awake the entire night crying. Take him to the dining table all the ingredients are there to make the baby milk for Naruto."

Sarutobi nodded as as Asuka walked towards to kitchen to make dinner. Sarutobi then went and sat down in the chair vacated by Asuka. He looked down at Naruto as he kept on playing with the toys. During his entire conversation with Asuka-san Naruto had not looked up even once. Sarutobi quickly got up from the chair and put his hands around Naruto to lift him up. As Sarutobi was lifting Naruto up he looked up and saw Sarutobi for the first time.

At first he looked confused and started looking around for, what Sarutobi assumed, Asuka-san. When he couldn't find Asuka-san he once again looked into the eyes of Sarutobi and then started laughing. He put his hands on Sarutobi's goatee and started to play with it. Sarutobi stood at the same spot rocking Naruto for a few seconds before he started moving towards the dining table. As he moved a few steps Naruto started fidgeting in his arms. At first Sarutobi thought it was his movement that caused Naruto trouble and started rocking him again, but that didn't stop Naruto. Sarutobi saw that his eyes and hands were pointing towards the same spot he was in just before. Just as he turned around to see what Naruto wanted a voice came from the kitchen

"Oh, don't forget to take the moneky doll with you to the dining table. Naruto doesn't take anything unless that toy is beside him."

Sarutobi went back, picked up the monkey and handed it over to Naurto who gladyly took it started smiling again. Sarutobi then walked up to the dining table and sat down with Naruto on his lap, still playing with the moneky. He looked at the table and saw that there was packet of baby milk powder along with a container of water. He tested the water and felt that it was just the right temperature.

He read the instruction on the Baby power pack and powered the appropriate quantity into another bowl that was present on the table and then added the required quantity of water and started churning the mixture all the while he kept on rocking Naruto in his lap. Once he was sure the mixture was ready he started looking around for the bottle with which he would feed Naruto. He looked around the table but saw that there was no bottle on it.

"Asuke-baa-cha, where is the baby bottle?" Sarutobi asked.

"Oh, Naruto doesn't drink with a bottle, he doesn't like it. You will have to feed him with the spoon, and make sure he is playing with his toy, he is easier to feed when his mind is on the toy rather than the spoon."

Sarutobi looked down at Naruto who was still busy playing with the monkey doll, moving it up and down, left and right and all other directions and laughing deliriously while doing it. He lifted Naruto from his lap and put him on the table top so that it would be easier for him to feed him. He churned the mixture of baby milk and water some more before he took a bit of it on the spoon and moved it towards Naurot's mouth.

The first two times Sarutobi tried to put the spoon in Naruto's mouth he moved his head away from it and continued to play with the monkey but the third time he turned towards Sarutobi and opened his mouth as he took the spoon into his mouth and swallowed what he could and let the rest drip from his mouth. Sarutobi quickly used the spoon to scoop up any mixture that was dripping from Naruto's mouth and quickly added it back to the bigger mixture. This continued for another half an hour as Sarutobi kept feeding Naruto. Finally the last spoon went into Naruto's mouth just as Asuka came out of the kitchen with the dinner.

"Did Naruto give you any problems Saru?" Asuka asked as he put the pan with the dinner down on the table away from Naruto.

"Not at all, he ate all his dinner like a nice little baby, didn't you Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi said as he tickled Naruto who laughed a little before almost tipping over.

"That's enough play time, you eat your dinner as well Saru as go put Naruto-chan to sleep." Asuke said as she got up,lifted Naruto and started walking up the stairs.

Sarutobi sat there for a few seconds watching Naruto being taken up before he started eating his dinner as well. Asuka soon came down after ten minutes and sat down on the opposite of sarutobi.

"Today was a good day for Naruto-chan. He got to play a little with his jiji."Asuka said with a smile.

"what do you mean jiji?" Sarutobi asked as he looked at Asuka incredulously.

"Oh come-on Saru-chan, who would think that you were Naruto-chan's father? At your that's the only thing you can be." Asuka said with a smile.

"I am no that old."Sarutobi said defiantly

"Keep telling yourself that little Saru-chan."Asuka said as she giggled a little.

"You should do this more often Sarutobi. This is a critical moment for Naruto, and needs to know what you are to him. He needs to be comfortable around you because you are the one who adopted him Sarutobi, not me." Asuke said as she slowly ate her dinner.

"Naruto was comfortable enough with me today, you didn't see it but he was happy when I held him."

"He is like that with everyone. Tell me how many times did he look you in the eye when you were feeding him?" Asuka asked.

Sarutobi thought back and realized that the only time Naruto looked him in the eye was when he took in the first spoon. Apart from that one moment Naruto's spent his entire time with his monkey. As Sarutobi thought all this Asuka continued…

"He always looks me in the eye when I am feeding him. It's is you who should be feeding him and making that connection with him, not me. I do not know how much longer I will stay alive" Asuka said solemly as Sarutobi jerked his head up to look Asuka.

"Oh don't look at me like that. I won't die yet you little pipsqueak. I am just saying that you should start bonding with Naruto more. Now that it looks like the village is getting on its feet a little bit you will surely have more time and I want you to spend that time with Naruto-chan." Asuka said firmly.

Sarutobi nodded and looked down at his food. Even thought it had been a few weeks since he had formally adopted Naruto, this had been the first instance, since he first brought Naruto to the Hoakge's Mansion, that he had held Naruto in his hands. He vowed that while the village would always be his first priority but the moments that he was free, in those moments he would do everything in his power to be with his adopted son, or as Asuka-baa-chan said his Grand-son, and he liked the sound as he kept repeating it inside his head. Yes, he would be there for his grand-son whenever he had the time and he would make sure that Naruto would not grow up feeling lonely.

[h]

And that's it. Not as good I know, and late to boot but I have been really busy with work. Now I realize why I had only written one-shots and not full length stories. I apologize for the late release for this chapter but I have some other bad news for people who care about this fic. I will be taking another long brake before the next chapter because as I was writing this chapter I realized something. I only have a story structure for the second half of the story and small parts, here and there, from the first half. Before I write the next chapter I would like to make it clear to myself how this story will progress from here on out. I have a final arc relating to Sarutobi that I do not think anyone else has ever tried in this site (At least I have never read it). I would welcome anyone who would like to help me and discuss with me to come up with ideas for the first half of this stoy.

That's all from me. Till next time don't forget to R&R.

Adigo Amios.


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